John Pfeffer of Capillary Action is a unique songwriter. Having dabbled in free-form avant-rock in the past with his band – which, as he acknowledges, has been more like a name he uses for whatever music he’s currently working on – he just released a new, very avant-garde track under his own name called “Bodega.” It features collaborations he’s done with a handful of fellow Philly artists, including Ricardo Lagomasino of Many Arms, Eric Slick of Dr. Dog, YIKES the ZERO,Lushlife, and Jeff Zeigler of Arc In Round. The track is wildly experimental, and largely instrumental until around the 7 minute mark (it’s 10 minutes in total). Check it out for yourself below, via Soundcloud.

Local folks including Ape School, Tadoma and King Britt – as well as outside-Philly names Benoît Pioulard and Lymbyc System – tried their hand at remixing Arc In Round‘s layered and heavy debut LP in the new ::::remixed:::: collection, available today as a free download. The set contains eight reconstructions of songs like “Spirit” (morphed into a driving krautrock rager by Pink Skull) and “II” (made all pulsing and dreamy by A Sunny Day in Glasgow), as well as two unreleased songs – “Even” and “Days Untried.” Give it a listen below, and download it at Bandcamp.

Philly’s Jeff Zeigler has amassed quite the resume in recent years, between his space-rock outfit Arc in Round and his production work for local luminaries Kurt Vile and The War on Drugs. Ziegler’s also been expanding into the solo / collaborative experimental zone, playing solo shows (at The Deli’s Tuesday Tune-Out), with renowned Philly harpist Mary Lattimore and now opening for English ambient artist Benoît Pioulard in the side chapel of the First Unitarian Church on March 25th. This past week, Ziegler released two new solo compositions: “Saw the Life” (which is available for download below) and a rough version of “Opportunity” (which is streaming-only). Check them out below, and get tickets and more information on Zeigler’s show on the 25 at the R5 Productions website.

A big bomb dropped this morning for fans of loud amplifiers, effects pedals and that hypnotic musical genre known as shoegaze. Kevin Shields, singer and guitarist for My Bloody Valentine, told long-standing UK music news source NME that his band will release a new album by year’s end. The as-yet-untitled work would be available through Shields’ website, and would be followed up by an EP of even newer material.

This news is nothing short of staggering, considering that MBV’s last recorded work was the landmark record Loveless, released some 21 years ago back in November of 1991. Its blend of dissonance and agression with beauty and tranquility had no major parallels at the time, but went on to influence countless artists in the subsequent decades. You could hear the echo of Loveless in 90s acts like The Verve and Mazzy Star as well as 21st century rock demagogues Radiohead, all the way down to smaller-profile artists like Japancakes (who covered the album in its entirety in 2007), Black Angels and currently buzzing Baltimore outfit Secret Mountains.

So the question is – what is the band’s first album in 21 years going to sound like, anyway? Shields told NME that the engineers and musicians who have heard the record, which has been in the works since sometime the 90s, find it to be more far-out than Loveless. He doesn’t agree, however.

So does that mean it will merely be Loveless II? One would think that a band wouldn’t release its first album in 21 years unless it had something new to say / do, right? Even a bad My Bloody Valentine record would rule pretty hard…but what if the unthinkable happens and it is bad? Could it tarnish the legacy of Loveless? Are you excited or afraid to listen?

Ponder these questions, and let us know what you think in the comments below. And while you do that, check out an assortment of artists from our own local music community here in Philly that, one way or another, have drawn influence from My Bloody Valentine. Continue reading →

This afternoon, touring Philly space rock four-piece Arc In Round pushes towards the Triple Door in Seattle. Yesterday, King Britt gave a brilliant performance in Bartram’s Garden for The Switched on Garden 002 – the second showcase from local experimental label Data Garden. Last week, both artists were in much closer proximity – sonically speaking, anyway – when the Poconos-based label La Société Expéditionnaire released a King Britt remix of “Spirit,” the first single from Arc In Round’s self-titled debut. The driving, electric space rock of the original is flipped in favor of a glitchy, minimal electronic dub style, allowing Mikele Edwards’ vocals to float to the top. Download the remix below; listen to King’s new EP The Bee and the Stamenhere and check out Arc in Round’s debut here.

It’s a great show for 90s nostalgics at Union Transfer tonight; Bob Mould, former frontman of Husker Du and Sugar, will perform the latter’s 1992 album Copper Blue in its entirety. Joining him is longtime bassist Jason Narducy, as well as Superchunk drummer John Wurster. The all-ages show begins at 9 p.m., and tickets are available here for $25. Below, watch a video of the band playing “Hoover Dam.”

It’s the start of a new month, which means a new edition of PhilaMOCA‘s music-and-film series, Tuesday Tune-Out. This time, we’ve got a great round of offerings lined up by the folks at The Deli.

When you’re covering a local music scene like we do here at The Key, you get to know the folks who are out there with you every week in the proverbial trenches. Editor Q.D. Tran and his staff at The Deli are good people through and through – friendly, enthusiastic and passionate about the Philly scene and everything that goes along with it, from spoken word to art. I’m happy to call them my buddies (as well as friendly competitors or what have you), and I’m happy to invite Q.D. to our corner of the internet to give an overview of The Deli’s offerings for the month. All events are at PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th Street), start at 7:30pm and are $5.

From Q.D.:
Hola – so when Eric Bresler, PhilaMOCA’s Creative Director, approached me about a new series that he was working on which integrated live music and film and would have different curators each month, I immediately volunteered to take a month. Combining music and movies is a no-brainer in my book, I grew up loving both as I am sure many of you who are reading this have. Obviously, it was a blast to get to put together the lineup of featured artists for September – so much so that I decided to recruit openers for most of the evenings as well. John Vettese asked me to “Guest VJ,” sharing a few videos and words about my picks. Below is what I came up with last night. I hope that it gets people inspired and pumped up as much as all of us are who are participating in Tuesday Tune-Out this month. Continue reading →

Experimental Philly four-piece Arc in Round is headed out on a two-month tour with Frightened Rabbit in support of its debut self-titled LP, which recently got a vinyl release through Delaware Water Gap indie label La Société Expéditionnaire. The tour itself does not stop in Philadelphia, but Arc in Round makes a local appearance in the midst of it, playing West Philly’s International House on Sept. 6 for its Fall Arts Preview. Below, check out a new remix of the album’s single “Said Adtray” by Portland-based ambient musician Benoît Pioulard, and download it for free.

Phiotio of Jeff Zeigler (guitar) and Matt Ricchini of Arc In Round by John Vettese
Philly’s Arc In Round recently released their self-titled debut, celebrating last Saturday at Johnny Brenda’s with a record release party. The four piece – Mikele Edwards (keyboards/vocals), Josh Meakim (bass), Matt Ricchini (drums), and guitarist/vocalist Jeff Zeigler – have released one of our favorite rock albums of the year. The band’s psychedelic, kraut-rock and prog-rock influences seductively come together on the record. Below, download the Stereolab-esque “One-Sided” sung by keyboardist Mikele Edwards. You can purchase Arc In Round’s new album here.

About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH

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About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH